Increasing your finger and grip strength benefits your quality of life as you get older. It allows you to grasp objects -- such as boxes and jars of food -- and hold them securely. Certain athletes require significant finger and grip strength as well. For example, football players must hold the football securely while maneuvering down the field, and rock climbers rely on their finger and grip strength for safety.

Items you will need

Ball small enough to fit in your hand

Weightlifting plates

Bucket

Rice, sand or similar material

Step 1

Take your small ball in one of your hands. Ideally, you should be able to wrap your fingers around this ball. Squeeze the ball as hard as you can for at least five seconds. Relax your hand and repeat nine more times, with a rest in between each squeeze. After performing 10 repetitions with one hand, switch hands. If your grip strength is quite weak, choose a soft squeeze ball. Stronger individuals can use a sturdier ball, like a tennis ball.

Step 2

Target the muscle that brings the thumb closer to the fingers with a pinching action. Stack two weightlifting plates on top of each other. Stand with your feet on either side of the stack. Grab the plates with both hands, and hold them with your arms hanging down in front of your body. Hold the plates for one minute before placing them back on the floor. Repeat two more times. As you get stronger, increase the duration of the hold. If you feel like the plates are slipping, move your feet apart so they don’t land on your toes. When you repeat the exercise, reduce the weight or dry the sweat off your fingers.

Step 3

Strengthen your finger extensors, the muscles that spread your fingers apart. Fill a large bucket with rice or sand. Rice offers less resistance than the sand, so if your muscles are weaker, start with the rice. Make a fist and stick your hand in the bucket. Open your hand as wide as possible. Remove your hand and repeat. At first, aim for three sets of 10 repetitions. Increase the number of repetitions per set to 25 as you get stronger.

Tip

If you have exercises in your workout that rely on grip strength -- chinups or biceps curls, for example -- perform those exercises before the finger and grip strength exercises. If you do the finger exercises first, your hands might be too tired to allow you to do the exercises that target the larger muscle groups.

About the Author

Kat Black is a professional writer currently completing her doctorate in musicology/ She has won several prestigious awards for her research, and has had extensive training in classical music and dance.